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Charles Gunn
Charles Gunn is a vampire hunter, member of Angel Investigations and, for several months, head of the legal department at Wolfram & Hart, until the rebellion of Team Angel. Biography Early Life Gunn was born in the Badlands, a section of inner-city Los Angeles where the police would not go, and looked after his sister, Alonna, from a very young age. Although he had a few brushes with the law, he acted as a kind of urban Robin Hood to keep the streets in his neighborhood safe. In his teens, Gunn rose through the ranks to become the leader of a gang of street-fighters who protect their turf from vampires using guerrilla tactics. Possessing the mind of a military strategist and the strength of a back-alley brawler, life in the ghetto hardened Gunn to the extent that his own well-being became less important than the cause, resulting in him trading his soul for a truck in a deal with a demon named Jenoff when he was only seventeen, because he believed he had no future. In 2000, Gunn witnessed the vampire Angel roughing up a blackmailer and tried unsuccessfully to dust him. Eventually, Angel won Gunn's trust, but unfortunately not in time to save Alonna from being turned into a vampire. Gunn has no choice but to stake his own sister, a decision which would haunt him for the rest of his life. This loss forces Gunn to question his own motives and makes him more receptive to accepting Angel's help, as he realizes he cannot do everything alone. Angel Investigations Angel recognized Gunn's strength and began on him for back up in battle or protection for the people he cares about when he cannot protect them himself. Although Gunn initially regards his time with Angel Investigations as a "paying side-gig," Gunn eventually becomes a full-time member of the gang, gaining mutual respect for those he fights side-by-side with while finding his place in the world. However, his work with his new 'family' often leads to conflicted loyalties; Cordelia is accidentally sucked into a portal to Pylea while a member of Gunn's old street crew, George, succumbs to the bite of a vampire. Gunn feels responsible for his friend's death, believing that it would not have happened if he had still been around to help in the fight. Yet even in his grief, he realizes that he could not commit the same crime twice and allow Cordelia to suffer the same fate, so he joins Angel, Wesley, and Lorne to rescue her. A short time after their return from Pylea, demons across the city are being massacred- regardless of whether or not they actually did anything to deserve being killed in the first place- and Gunn comes to the conclusion that his old gang is responsible for the deaths, currently being led by a man named Gio who has a serious grudge against supernatural entities because of an unrevealed event in his past. He realizes that his ties with his old life are gone and that his loyalty now lies with the vampire with a soul. In a showdown with one of his lifelong friends, Gunn finally chooses the mission of the Angel Investigations team. Without realizing it, Gunn finds the future he thought he would never have. He has friends, loyalty, respect, and a mission to pursue. He even finds love in the arms of the new girl Fred Burkle, but his past still comes back to haunt him when the demon Jenoff decides it is time to cash in on the deal Gunn had made years earlier by claiming Gunn's soul. Luckily, Angel and the others at Angel Investigations are able to aid Gunn and defeat Jenoff, allowing Gunn the luxury of living his life to the fullest. Fred becomes the most important person in Gunn's world, but Gunn's devotion suffers the ultimate test when he kills Professor Seidel, the person responsible for deliberately sending Fred to Pylea, in order to save Fred from having to carry the burden of doing it herself. The guilt of what he had done for her plagues Fred and instead of bringing them closer together, it begins the rut that leads to the end of their relationship. Although no longer romantically linked, Gunn and Fred continue to fight side-by-side, and Gunn has a fling with the electric Gwen Raiden. When Wolfram & Hart want to cut a deal to have Angel take over the LA branch, Gunn is led into the mysterious White Room where he is exposed to the mysterious conduit to the Senior Partners, who impresses Gunn with his immense power. Soon, he undergoes a remarkable transformation at Wolfram & Hart. Wolfram & Hart Feeling useless and undervalued by his friends, Gunn submits to a procedure at the hands of Wolfram & Hart's Medical Department that enhances his mind with a comprehensive understanding of the law, to help improve his voice and diction), making him the only member of Angel's team who can work inside the system seamlessly. Gunn grows to love his new job and newfound knowledge, feeling that he can accomplish more now than he ever did before. When his mental abilities begin to diminish, Gunn, fearful of losing his new talents and respect, makes a pact with Dr. Sparrow and gets a permanent upgrade in exchange for agreeing to release an ancient curio stuck in customs. When this curio results in the death of Fred and the resurrection of Illyria, a guilt-ridden Gunn re-dons his old street attire and willingly offers himself to take Lindsey McDonald's place in a hell dimension in order to get information on how to stop the Senior Partners. While the team have no clue how to free him, Illyria saves Gunn with ease. He then returns to the fold, changed and seeking redemption for his sins. He slays Senator Helen Brucker, one of the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn, but is seriously injured in the process. While preparing for one last fight against the army of the Senior Partners, Illyria states that he has only minutes to live with Gunn quoting, "Then let's make them memorable." Personality And Traits Gunn initially maintained a black-and-white outlook on life, with a particular prejudice toward vampires and demons. This attitude softened considerably during his time with Angel Investigations. Eventually, Gunn was able to see that not all demons were bad, but nonetheless carried some shreds of his old beliefs when regretfully admitted to Angel he could still not trust him as a vampire. When he had first starting working with Angel, Gunn's trademark traits was his distrusting nature and tendency to be insensitively straightforward. He had very little patience, and did not put up well with anything that would hold him back. Despite his off-putting front, Gunn showed remarkable loyalty towards those in his inner circle and took up responsibility to protect them. After the death of his sister Alonna, Gunn became increasingly self-destructive. He was very tightly wound and believed that if he ever let himself relax, another innocent person would die. Cordelia would make note of this, encouraging him to end his reckless habits so he wouldn't destroy himself. Consequently, he had somewhat of an issue with authority figures and often preferred doing things his own way, but this lessened over time once he became used to following Angel's orders. He was also characterized as being very stubborn, Cordelia once stating that "Gunn" and "Stubborn" were synonyms. Although he liked to give the impression of a gruff loner, Gunn valued his friendships and showed a sensitive side in his relationship with Fred. However, he was also plagued with insecurities regarding his role in the team, and began to resent being considered "the muscle". Gunn shaved his head and dressed casually, usually in hooded coats. Following his mental upgrade, Gunn shed his street look for the sleek, professional suits of a legal powerhouse. He also let his hair grow slightly, which came as a surprise to Cordelia, who had always assumed he was prematurely bald. Following Fred's demise, Gunn came full circle, returning to his roots, taking back his street clothes, and reawakening his purpose as a soldier in the fight against evil. As a vampire and leader of his own crew, he took credit for coordinating the team's outfits. Gunn was a fan of Denzel Washinghton and hadn't bothered to see a movie since the actor was robbed at the Oscars for Malcom X. Powers And Abilities *'Combat prowess:' Gunn was a normal human with no supernatural abilities, but he had strength and street fighting expertise due to his years as a vampire hunter, often being described as "the muscle" of Angel Investigations; Angel has even stated once that Gunn could conceivably defeat him in a fight if he was angry enough (Although even when Angel was human and Gunn a vampire Gunn still only managed to defeat Angel in a straight fight- discounting when Gunn sabotaged the charms Angel was using to heal his injuries as he had an unfair advantage- when Angel wanted to lose). He was an expert at using weapons, his favorite being a large battle axe made from a hubcap. *'High intellect:' However, Gunn has been shown to be a talented and intelligent investigator. Gunn was also a fan of pop culture and often displayed a detailed knowledge regarding comic books. **'Legal upgrade:' Due to Wolfram & Hart's legal upgrade, Gunn also had knowledge of all legal codes, both human and demon, as well as fluency in some demonic languages, knowledge of golf techniques and knows all Gilbert & Sullivan light operas. Relationships Romances * Veronica — Gunn had a romance with this girl prior to becoming a full-time member of Angel Investigations. She appeared briefly during a party of his, in which her non-fatal injury at the hands of a vampire brought him back painful memories and feeling of guilt about his sister Alonna. * Fred Burkle — Gunn and Fred fell in love and continued a strong relationship throughout much of Seasons Three and Four. However, when Gunn murdered Fred's old teacher, Professor Seidel, in order to protect her innocence, it eventually led to the end of their relationship. Nevertheless, the two remained close and he was devastated by her death, for which he was partially responsible. Gunn believed that he didn't deserve to live for a time after that. Unlike the other characters, who usually referred to Gunn by his surname, Fred always called him Charles and continued to do so following their break-up. Intimate liaisons *'Gwen Raiden' — Gunn and Gwen flirt and have sex when she gains the ability to touch people without harming them. Friendships *'Angel' — Gunn was initially hostile and distrusting of Angel, not believing that a vampire could chose to do good. His attitude towards him softened somewhat after the death of his sister, but Gunn still did not trust him and refused to work for Angel Investigations. Eventually, Gunn started to work part-time for him against demons and had agreed to look after Wesley and Cordelia when they were both in the hospital. Out of Angel's crew, Gunn was at first the only one Angel viewed as a competent fighter. Gunn's hostile disposition towards him began to lessen considerably as he worked with him more, entirely disappearing in a matter of months. After he was told of Angel's violent past and how he could revert to his evil self by a moment of perfect happiness, Gunn's initial suspicions returned. He declared he would never kill Angel, but if he turned bad again, he wouldn't hesitate to stake him. After a confrontation with Angel over The Shroud of Rahmon, Gunn's distrust of him was was increased even more. Due to his obsession with taking down Darla, Angel had fired him along with Wesley and Cordelia from Angel Investigations. While the two eventually reconciled, Gunn made it clear at one point he did not truly see him as a friend nor entirely trust him, but refused to kill Angel when egged on by his crew because he could see that he was on the right side. Gunn apologized to him over this, but admitted he could not truly alter his black-and-white views just like that. Angel understood, trusting him to be able to kill him if he ever needed to. The two remained close friends and allies despite such moments as Angel's brief return to Angelus or Gunn killing Angel when he was turned into a vampire while in Hell, Angel assuring Gunn when he was recovering in hospital that he didn't blame his friend for what he had done as a vampire. *'Cordelia Chase' — Due to Gunn's impatience and withholding personality, he initially didn't get along well with either Cordelia or Wesley. Gunn was particularly rude to Cordelia and even described her as a "stick figure barbie". When Cordelia was given a vision of Gunn being in trouble, she became obsessed with protecting him. He, however, did not want any of her help nor did he take her warning seriously, viewing her as nothing more but a useless nuisance. However, after going up against Deevak, Gunn came to respect Cordelia when she warned him of his self-destructive path. The two became very close friends, developing something of a sibling relationship. *'Wesley Wyndam-Pryce' — Gunn had no respect for Wesley at first and saw him as entirely incompetent, along with Cordelia, mockingly calling him "C3PO". Eventually, however, Gunn started to warm up to Wesley as he continued to work part time for Angel Investigations, being friendly with him for the most part. When Angel fired him along with Cordelia and Wesley, Gunn joined the group at Caritas as they all tried to find a path for their future. The three of them argued over who was more responsible for Angel starting to lose himself, Gunn particularly describing Wesley as "a pansy ass British guy." Gunn and Wesley quickly developed a strong friendship with each other through their work fighting demons, Gunn even refusing to leave his side when Wesley was put in the hospital because of a gun shot wound. The relationship was strained however when Wesley kidnapped Connor, with Gunn all too happy to see Wesley ostracized from the group for his betrayal. As Gunn and Fred's relationship began to disintegrate, and Wesley began to make moves at Fred, their relationship became outright antagonistic, even escalating into a fist fight. The two made up however, and maintained a cordial, if reserved, relationship while working together for Wolfram & Hart. After it came to light that Gunn had unknowingly helped cause Fred's death, Wesley stabbed him. While Wesley did give something of an apology later, Gunn held no grudge toward him, as he blamed himself as well. Their relationship was never truly repaired, as Wesley would die not long thereafter. Familial *'Alonna Gunn '- Gunn was extremely close to his younger sister throughout the years, and saw it as his duty to protect her. However, they both tended to clash with Alonna's concern for his reckless nature and the dangerous situations he was put in. Jumped by vampires, Alonna was killed and sired. Upon this realization, Gunn was overcome with grief and guilt. She appeared twistedly obsessed with him, urging him to embrace the life of a vampire without the burdens of an average human life in return for all of the years he took care of her. Before Alonna could successfully turn him, Gunn forced himself to stake her since the sister he loved was already gone. Gunn struggled to get over this, and eventually remarked that he could never take it easy anymore because if he did, someone like Alonna would get killed. Her death continued to haunt him, declaring to his crew how could he keep them safe when he couldn't even kill his own sister safe. Category:Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Human